One Hundred Days: Day Twenty-Nine

Master Tung created his own brand of Acupuncture by defining his preferred points; sometimes called Master Tungs magic points! It’s not that different really to the Chinese practiced for thousands of years. I rarely have more than five needles during a session which is rather different to the 20-200 needles which most people associate with Acupuncture.

Master Tung developed the Tung Acupuncture system in the mid 1950’s in Taiwan. I am a strong advocate as it works for me and has worked close on 10 years. It’s especially helpful now in dealing with the trauma of a broken ankle, the restorative surgery and the recuperation journey.

When I got to this point yesterday…….no internet connection. Just in case I get cut off again….I’m going to post this now.

I bought an elegant walking cane for my mother, she was a very elegant person. And I taught her how to use it. Today, what I knew about using a walking cane was the most important thing I needed to know.

Why is patience a virtue? Why can't I buy more patience online? Those were my first thoughts today as I woke up feeling very impatient with myself and with life. Then I remembered something I had read recently " Patience is the virtue we exercise to take advantage of the time we have."

The most important thing when you feel out of control, as I did the other morning, is to take control of your attitude. You'll say it's easy for me as it's only 100 days.....however I have been thinking what if...... I have also been thinking about how important it is to Design a space for the possible eventuality.......

Getting in the groove would describe today. Not a fun groove either, just something that needs to be done to move the recuperation journey along. Fortunately sleep is an all important part of recuperation for ankle surgery, and I did a lot of that...so what about tonight when I can't sleep?

When I fell and broke my ankle on January 26th, I had no warning. I slipped on algae covered concrete....... two ankle bones snapped..... which necessitated in having 10 screws and a stainless plate inserted during surgery last Monday by Seattle orthopedic surgeon Dr.Mark Reed.

So when you see a Dragon in the sky what does this mean? Today it felt like the Dragon was looking out for me. My challenge today was finding the balance between taking control or letting the pain suppressors continue to do their thing.

I am looking forward with trepidation to next Wednesday when a lot more than a culinary skill will be revealed....... stay tuned....my cast will be removed and I'll have to actually confront, feel and see the surgery results! How will metal screws actually feel?

When I woke up yesterday morning, my first thought was "how can I cope"? And then my friend Karen called and asked, "how does it feel to be out of control" Right on Karen!...... that's just what I was feeling!

This is what I see from my bed through a long lens! It feels like I am looking at everything through a long lens this week ....... everything is magnified and I'm focused on the details rather than the overall picture.

On January 26th I learned that the recuperation journey will be about 100 days; that's this week added to the 12 weeks after my ankle surgery scheduled for tomorrow. So this is my personal diary ONE HUNDRED DAYS; it's really self- therapy to help me deal with the days to come ........

Hardware update completed ~ unlike updated computer hardware I hope this one will last for 30 years... My surgery yesterday at 7.30 in the morning was 2 hours and I came out of the anesthetic fast they said .

As some of you know I am an advocate of Master Tung's Acupuncture, and even visited one of his remaining direct disciples in Taipei a few years ago. Today, Jon Gissel Seattle Master Tung practitioner flew in to see me via Kenmore Air float plane.

Our four legged feline companions are a very important part of our recuperation process. Eight weeks ago we adopted a Bengal rescue cat and named him Tai Chi. After a very controlled introduction process he and our fifteen year old Burmese, Braun are almost best of friends.

Just when you think you have things all worked out, you realize they don't really work anymore and you have to change, modify, pivot your strategy or plan. That is the similarity between the StartUp and recuperation journey. Yesterday's plan is not the best focus for today.

How can a Medical facility sell a MaxTrax boot for $350.00, which is for sale on Amazon for less than $100? Is it the same product? Do mark-ups vary that much when a product is prescribed by a Doctor? ? Which layer in the chain is taking the biggest cut?

You can read so much from a face; from a facial expression and also what I call face language (like body language) ~ even this mask "The Prince" by Northwest Artist Doug David reveals strength and character and perhaps some bloody mindedness as well.

To some of us Valentines day is not really significant - as every day is special day when you are with someone you love - and what some people show once a year should be an integral part of the DNA of your relationship.

Things are often not what they seem! Look closely the Deer is not really being offered as a tasty dish! Well, that could be a great opening for a politically focused post, appropriate for Presidents Day; but not happening here. This image could also lead to the philosophical discussion ~ how do you know what is real?

Architects and Designers who design for accessible design should spend at least a couple of days in a wheelchair! After spending a month tooling around at home, staying in a hotel and visiting Seattle Orthopedic Center I've come the conclusion that in real terms as to what a person needs, some ADA designed spaces fall short!

What does normal mean? Every time we change what we expect in our lives does it become a new normal? Who would have known how things would change and all I did was break an ankle, require a hardware upgrade to my foot and embark on a 100 day recuperation journey.

Everyone wants to know, but how much detail should you really share? I am sensitive about this, as just about everyone I know has such a very busy schedule. So here goes the short form: Image here is the first layer of my after surgery cast being removed.

When you reach a goal, even an interim goal or milestone you know you are on the right road.......but that's assuming you've made the goals in the first place. It's important in a recuperation journey to have clearly defined goals or milestones. We reached a milestone today; ice and elevate really paid off.

It's a SAD day in the San Juan Islands, located in the great Pacific Northwest. This was my "viewport" when I opened my front door this morning....it was enough to make me turn around and go back to bed.

Why is struggling with new technology so time consuming? Why cant there be a simple solution for online security? The phone in my image above still works after several decades and it's only challenging to use if you are under a certain age! Not a very secure location in today's world...